December 15, 2004

In an announcement that sent shockwaves through the world of college football, someone not named Chris Samp took home the Heisman Trophy earlier this week. The award was given to Matt Leinert, quarterback for USC, which is widely considered the Winona State of D1 football. Nonetheless, it is surprising, given that Samp recently finished one of the most successful seasons in the history of college athletics.

Even more surprising is that Samp was not even in the top five, and did not appear to have received any votes at all. An anonymous source affiliated with the awarding committee has told me that Samp's name did not even appear on the ballots. Given his extraordinary season, how is it possible that Samp was not given this once-prestigous award? One theory is that Samp fell off the radar when he left the country to help with famine relief in sub-Saharan Africa. Another possibility is that there was some confusion between Chris Samp and his 50 brothers, and the votes were split between them. Finally, there is a real possibility that award voters considered Samp to be ineligible for the Heisman because they perceived him to be either a superhero or demigod of some sort.
Posted by mill1991 at December 15, 2004 12:20 PM